Allegiance
by B4Sin
Summary: The tournament is over and Winter Solstice is approaching. Teams RWBY, JNPR and CRDL volunteer to an unconventional mission, which will undoubtedly strain their friendships, and put fledgling romances to the test. Ancient secrets will be revealed, and a group of idiots are coming along for the ride.
1. Chapter 1: Grumpier than a Grimm

Chapter 1: Grumpier than a Grimm

Ruby hopped off her perch and elegantly landed on the carpeted floor below. As silently as she could Ruby dug out the small whistle hidden in her pocket, then cautiously raised it to her mouth. With a mischievous glint in her eye and a grin across her lips she leisurely drew in enough air to fill her lungs. She closed her eyes then counted down inwardly.

'One... Two... THREE!'

With all the vigour she could muster Ruby blew into the cold metal opening of the whistle, producing an ear piercing shriek. Almost simultaneously team RWBY leaped out of their beds, Weiss tumbling to the floor in shock and disorientation. "Not the whistle again..." Muttered Blake.

"What is your problem Ruby? It's the last day of school!" Complained Weiss as she struggled to her feet. Ruby began bouncing up and down excitedly. "Exactly! That's why we should make the most out of the day!" Weiss glanced at the old fashioned analogue clock hanging above the door to their room. Leaving a deliberate pause between each word, Weiss sputtered, "It's half five Ruby."

The ice cold glare from Weiss unnerved the younger girl; she looked down towards her feet unable to think of what to say. Suddenly a pair of arms wrapped themselves around Ruby's waist from behind and she was hoisted into the air. "I'm so proud of you sis! Always working hard and making sure we're all at our best!" Yang had noticed Ruby's momentary discomfort with Weiss and was determined to make sure Ruby didn't feel bad about waking everyone up at stupid o'clock in the morning, even if she did currently feel like a walking corpse.

Ruby struggled helplessly until Yang put her down. Ruby regained her composure and smiled thankfully at her older sister. She reached upwards and grabbed her scroll from her bed and read from it. "Today is business like normal until five where we will be attending a special winter solstice dinner. It will be a traditional dinner prepared and masterfully cooked by the finest gourmet chefs in the whole of vale." Ruby's face lit up with the thought of such an exquisite meal, the meat and sauces were sure to be superb, her thoughts were however quickly interrupted. "Thanks for telling us what we already know." Weiss said as she rolled her eyes and folded her arms. Ruby noted that her partner is even more grumpy that usual without her usual beauty sleep.

"What's that?" Exclaimed Blake from over Ruby's shoulder, pointing at an unopened message from Professor Ozpin. The message was addressed to all students in the school.

_Good morning to you all,_

_Today during second period there will be some very special guest speakers coming to Beacon Academy to talk about their experiences and about themselves. The assembly will be in the amphitheatre. Those of you with lessons will of-course be allowed to miss class in order to attend this talk. Make the most of the last day of term, and I hope to see you all for dinner at five tonight._

_Ozpin_

"I wonder who could be coming." Wondered Blake out loud.

Yang shrugged. "Meh, probably some old war veterans if they're coming here. Nobody interesting."

Weiss seemed to perk up upon hearing this and stomped towards the taller Yang. "What did you say!? Those old war veterans you disregard are heroes and deserve nothing but our utmost respect and admiration. Without them we would be living under Vacuole rule, or perhaps even torn apart and overrun by Grimm. What do you have to say for yourself!?" Weiss pouted and shoved a finger right into Yang's face. In response Yang smiled awkwardly and raised her hands in defence. "Umm, sorry I guess."

Weiss held her glare for a few moments longer then stomped off towards the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. "What's her problem?" Asked Yang.

"I don't think she's an early morning person." Replied Blake jokingly. "Besides, I think we should go. It could be a good learning experience."

Ruby grumbled. "Ugh, I've got a geography lesson second lesson today and I'll take ANY opportunity to skip that." She said whilst simultaneously over exaggerating her facial expressions and arm movements. Yang nodded her approval remembering she was in the same class. Ruby then placed her hands on her hips. "Okay team, let's take thirty minutes to get ready then we'll do some exercises, and then we'll spar a bit before the start of first lesson. I'll fill in Weiss when she eventually gets out the bathroom." Her team mates smiled, and with a sense of purpose Ruby launched her fist into the air. "Go team RWBY!"

Team RWBY spent the early morning running laps around Beacon's stunning and well maintained gardens, and then proceeded to spar with one another. They had already retrieved their weapons and combat attire from their lockers and paired off. Yang against Blake, and Ruby against Weiss. After her typical lukewarm shower Weiss was in a much better mood, reverting back to her standard calm but irate demeanour. After their melee the girls hurriedly returned to their dorms to retrieve and change into their uniforms, then made their way to the cafeteria. Team JNPR were already sitting in their usual seats and team RWBY joined them. "Good morning!" Bellowed Nora. "Morning." Replied the members of team RWBY with differing levels of enthusiasm. "Did you guys get the message about the special speakers?" Asked Jaune with a quizzical look on his face.

"Of-course we did!" Declared Ruby.

"Are you guys going?" Jaune asked again.

"Yes," Said Blake. "We figured it would be a good learning experience."

Pyrrha looked amused. "That doesn't sound like Ruby or Yang to me." She smiled as she cupped both hands around her mug and sipped her coffee, Pyrrha's emerald green eyes shifting between the two sisters. "No, unfortunately it doesn't." Weiss remarked.

Nora sprung to her feet and grabbed both Ruby and Yang by the collar. "Who are you and what have you done with our friends!?" Nora's eyes bolted between the two waiting for a reply.

"Calm down girlfriend." Replied Yang with another awkward smile on her face, ungrappling Nora's hand and slowly pushing it away. "It's us. We're just going so we can get out of lesson."

"Ohhhh." Exclaimed Nora, pushing a finger to her lips. "That makes sense!" She plonked herself back on her chair and continued devouring her bread roll.

Ren piped up. "I'm personally eager to see who professor Ozpin invited to come speak. If he requested them personally they must be worth our time." The group pondered for a second then nodded in agreement. "Gee Ren, I think that's the most I've ever heard you talk."Ruby said bursting into laughter; Ren just chuckled quietly and continued eating his sandwich.


	2. Chapter 2: Two kinds of hunters

Chapter 2: Two kinds of hunters

A couple hours passed and it was time for the assembly. Team RWBY and team JNPR arrived slightly early to find seats so they could all sit together. Slowly but surely all the other students began filtering in, and there was barely an empty seat to be seen. Professor Ozpin stood behind a podium on the far side of the stage, where he was conferring with Glynda Goodwitch in hushed tones. There was a long table positioned in the centre of the slightly elevated stage housing six chairs behind, facing the audience.

Eventually Goodwitch left the room and Ozpin coughed deliberately into the microphone. Almost immediately the room fell silent and all eyes were on him. "Good morning everyone, thank you all for coming and I hope you've all had a pleasant morning." He paused for a moment. "I would like to introduce you all to a friend of mine, somebody most of you will actually probably know quite well. I've also had to ask him to refrain from... swearing." Ozpin paused again, this time for a bit longer. Murmurs and whispers flooded the room, students twisted their heads left and right attempting to decipher who Ozpin was speaking of. Again, Ozpin raised his hand and silence took hold once more. "It is my pleasure to introduce Geoff Ramsey from the Achievement Hunters."

An instant later a tattooed man with a biker's moustache sauntered onto stage and without delay cheers and applause erupted from the audience, he then strolled towards professor Ozpin who was politely clapping. When he reached the podium Geoff and Ozpin grasped hands and smiled. Ozpin then stepped graciously to the side and Geoff took Ozpin's place at the podium. He gazed at his audience waiting for the applause to die down.

After what seemed like a minute he leant over the podium, tapped the microphone then looked upwards. "What's up Beacon?" Cheers and applause erupted a second time. "You guys okay?" This time individual students responded, talking over each other.

"Yeah!"

"Fantastic!"

"We're doing great Geoff!"

One girl with short orange hair and turquoise eyes even jumped up on her chair and screamed, "I love you Geoff!" Another student wearing green with a magenta streak down the left side of his hair grabbed her arm and in a flash, pulled her back into her seat. Geoff could only look down and release a small chuckle. "Let's get down to business. I'm here because I owe Ozpin a favour, you see he helped me out once when I really needed it and without him I wouldn't be where I am today. A few weeks ago he invited me to come talk with his students and I was nothing but happy to oblige." Ozpin bowed and shouts of approval escaped from the audience. "Of-course I also wouldn't be here today without the help from my team... So please welcome... Jack, Gavin, Michael, Ryan and Ray!" A thunder of applause surged from the audience as Gavin, Michael and Ray burst in through the back door running through a walkway between two blocks of students, high fiving them as they ran past. Ryan and Jack strode onto the stage the same way Geoff had, then sat down at the table whilst waving at the audience. A few seconds later Gavin, Michael and Ray clambered onto stage. Gavin turned, caught his breath and bellowed "Team LADS!" whilst waving his arms in the air. About half the crowd responded in unison, chanting "Team LADS!"

Eventually everybody settled down, and Jack spoke into his microphone. "It is a real pleasure to be here today and to meet so many hunters and huntresses in training. It's you guys who sacrifice and serve to protect us from the Grimm and other... not so pleasant things, so thank you y'all!" The audience clapped in response, and a few cheers echoed throughout the room. Michael turned to Jack whilst still keeping his face to the audience. "I mean we're hunters too right, but obviously not the same as you guys."

For the next half hour the achievement hunters chatted with the audience about their various adventures. Ray spoke with a passionate fever about how the crew had played at every mini golf course in Vale, then not so passionately about the time they had played Monopoly. Gavin and Jack discussed their competitive nature when it comes to motocross racing and how Gavin always bails just before he hits the finish line. Ryan preferred to focus on the video where he was proclaimed King for a day on his birthday and got to order everyone around, and Geoff told stories about the battles he and the AH crew had been in. Michael just made fun of Gavin. The Achievement Hunters even answered a few questions from the students.

Geoff took his spot at the podium again. "Now, we have another surprise. We're going to show you guys a never before seen video before anyone else!" The crowd roared as Beacon's sizeable display unit descended from the ceiling with the achievement hunter logo on it.

Ruby had been in a state of jubilation since the Achievement Hunters had first walked on stage. For years now she had watched their videos they had uploaded to the internet. The AH crew were always doing awesome and crazy things just for their enjoyment and that of their viewers. From time to time they were also prone to acts of sheer heroism, fighting off packs of Grimm and common criminals to save innocent folk. What made this even more amazing is that like most people in Remnant they didn't know how to use their aura. They were just normal people, risking their lives, doing what they thought was best.

Ruby glanced to her left in the short lull. Yang appeared to be just as ecstatic as she was; Yang had been one of the loudest students in the room when the AH Crew walked in, of-course not as loud as Nora who managed to draw the attention of everybody in the hall at one point. Jaune and Pyrrha stared longingly at the screen, waiting for the video to play. Ruby noticed that Pyrrha was leaning into Jaune a little too obviously. Blake and Ren's expressions were blank, and Weiss seemed to be looking on in contempt. Does anything make her happy?

By pulling her focus from the main stage Ruby managed to glimpse some discussion behind her. There were two police officers standing near the main entrance to the amphitheatre, and they were talking with professor Ozpin. After observing for a few seconds Ruby noticed a sudden sullen look materialise on Ozpin's face, as the professor pointed towards Geoff on-stage, nodding. A few more moments past and Ozpin turned, striding hurriedly off in Geoff's direction. He arrived at the stage quickly and pulled Geoff aside, whispering hastily into his ear. Geoff instantly hopped off-stage and ran in the direction of the policemen. It was at that moment that Ruby became aware of the fact that these officers were the same guys she had seen in Vale a few weeks ago, just before the tournament. The last time she saw them they were clumsily chasing after Sun after he had dropped a banana peel on one of their heads. She giggled at the memory.

All eyes were on Geoff as he rushed down the walkway out of the room, Ozpin following behind at a hurried yet dignified pace. The four men left the room, shutting the door as they went. Loud discussion amongst friends immediately followed, confused students imagined ludicrous theories as to what all the commotion was about.

* * *

I hope everyone who has read this far has enjoyed the story for what it is so far. I understand that my writing style isn't great but I really just wanted to write something I would love. The Achievement Hunters will have a major role in the story to come, and I'm sorry if that isn't your cup of tea. I'll update the story as much as I can, it's really good fun to write such different characters and to think of cool scenes. Although I didn't expect myself to basically write a RT panel into my fanfic, aha. Any criticism is welcome, as I don't know what people would enjoy focusing on. More to come!


End file.
